Great
early colorized post card of French digging near Mindi on the Atlantic
side of the isthmus. The French dug a rather narrow canal from the Mount
Hope towards the Chagres River where the Gatun Dam sits today. This
particular post card is titled "Dredges Working on Lock 2, Mindi,
during French Days in Panama". It was the French's last attempt succeed
with the project. De Lesseps was hell bent on digging a sea level
canal for many years and finally realized that a lock canal was the
answer. Some Zonians will remember crossing over the old French
Canal on the way to Fort Sherman. This section shown above was
probably filled in with wet and dry excavation during the American
construction days. Many of these ladder dredges were later found
sunk near Mount Hope and were refurbished by the Isthmian Canal Commission
and put back in service.